Radlett & District Ladies Circle - Our Blog of Fun, Friendship & Fundraising

Doesn't she look marvellous for 75?

2011-10-03T12:36:00.003+01:00

Here is Vicky Perry, our National President, looking gorgeous despite celebrating 75 Years of Circling in the UK for an entire weekend of partying! As well as a party night and a President's Ball, Vicky and the committee launched our fabulous new website. Check it out at www.ladiescircle.co.uk - it has a whole new look & feel, tried and tested with women aged 18-45 who are not current Circlers as this is the target audience for this site. In addition, there is a members-only area (email Nic B for passwords) to make it much easier to find the info and connections we need as a local club. Add it to your profiles / link on Facebook etc to pass it forward girls....

Welcome back everyone!

2011-09-09T17:04:00.004+01:00

Here's a picture of me this summer - don't I look fabulous despite the massive amounts of calamari and sangria consumed? For those of you that couldn't make it to drinks last night due to car crashes and other rubbish excuses (!), hope you had good holidays (and you missed a great apple crumble BTW).

We had a quick planning / holiday catch up meeting last night to get some events planned - these have now been added to our Diary Dates. Exact venue and timing for next week's cinema trip will be sent out after Thu via email so keep an eye out. Enjoy until then....

Poker Queens!

2011-07-11T21:18:00.002+01:00

Congratulations to Julie on winning the stunningly expensive Poker trophy at our 'Gaga about Poker' night last week. It was a great night so thanks to Louise for hosting, Michelle and Suzanne (have you dried out yet?) for providing the chips and Julie for providing the croupier. We had a few guests join us and quite a few of the poker virgins were busily download Texas Hold'em apps after the game so hopefully we'll all be there next year for the 2012 Poker Night!

Smiling come rain or shine....

2011-06-14T22:37:00.008+01:00

...well the weather may have been truly dreadful for the Radlett Festival last Sunday but that didn't stop the Circlers from smiling! Can you guess which one is not a Circler?

Radlett Festival 2011

2011-06-07T11:37:00.003+01:00

It's Radlett Festival this Sunday and we're joining forces with Radlett Round Table. We've got some bath bomb gift packs we'll be giving out to promote our Circle this year so come along and join us for a drink and a chat to find out more.

Cruising the Thames

2011-04-14T09:09:00.003+01:00

In the midst of the marches through London to protest the spending cuts, some Radlett circlers nipped out of the pub, dodged the crowds and joined circlers from all over the Eastern Region on board a cruiser. We sailed down the Thames out past Greenwich over lunch and drinks. A speaker from the 'Railway Children' charity told us about their work and all the proceeds from the raffle were donated to this great cause. It was fab to meet up with old friends and get to know some new ones as London floated by. Here is Nicola and Lisa with Vicky Perry, our incoming National President.

Girls on Film (or Radio at least)

2011-02-15T15:41:00.004Z

Having postponed our previous appearance due to snowfalls, we made it to the BBC Radio Three Counties studio for our starring role on Lorna Milton's afternoon show. Michelle, Roma and Nicola mixed up cocktails and tasted cupcakes for a live audience, with Lorna and her team doing the judging. Top winners were the Iced Lime Marguerita and the Red Velvet Cupcakes (recipes available in our Charity Cook book - on sale at www.radlettcirclerecipebook.co.uk if you haven't bought your copy yet.) Letchworth Circle have had a call already from a listener who is interested in joining Circle, having heard us on the radio so we must have done something right! We also put together a fact sheet that the radio station are distributing if listeners contact them and apparently it has proved very popular.

It was a great experience and lots of fun, if a little nerve-wracking at first. The team were very friendly and have invited us back to Lorna's new breakfast show to publicise our upcoming Radlett Fashion Week. Many thanks to Roma for organising and here are some pictures to prove it...

Boys vs Girls "Come Dine With Me"

2011-02-02T23:06:00.004Z

Didn't they do well? The boys set an astonishingly high standard with their 'Four Seasons' themed night last Saturday. After greeting us with cocktails and canapes (we didn't know they knew things like this...), we were delighted to see the beautifully laid out tables, complete with candles and flowers. Who knew? All three courses were gorgeous and the entertainment (Guess the Knee, Whose Secret?) were lots of fun. Thanks to Round Table for a great night and.....you'll have to wait and see whether we can come up trumps in a couple of weeks when it's our turn to host! Go girls!!

Radio Stars!

2011-01-21T11:45:00.003Z

Here we are having a bake-a-thon in preparation for our Radio BBC Three Counties appearance around 4pm today. We'll be taking along a selection of cakes and cocktails to share with Lorna and the team and to publicise our charity recipe book. So far, we've sold around 100 copies so with all proceeds going straight to Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research, that's £500 already. We're getting closer to our £1,500 target so thanks to all who have bought a copy.

We've also had some press coverage: http://www.watfordobserver.co.uk/news/8738829.Ladies_circle_releases_charity_recipe_book/

Let's hope we don't do a Jeremy Hunt-style blooper! More pics to follow!

Book launches with a bang

2010-12-08T22:11:00.007Z

We had a great turnout for our first ever book launch. The Radlett Circle Cocktails & Cakes recipe book was admired by all, as were the samples of the cakes and cocktails. Many thanks to Gavin at Tsar Deli for so generously hosting the event and to Edith Oakley, founder of the Radlett branch of Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research, for sharing a bit more of their work. Thanks to our kind advertisers and the design time donated by Braden Threadgold Advertising, all book sales proceeds will go straight to the charity.

It's certainly a great cause and we sold over 50 copies on the night with good sale since. If you'd like to buy a copy either email us here and we'll drop one round or, if you live further away, go to our Recipe Book site and order your copy online at http://www.radlettcirclerecipebook.co.uk/

All I want for Christmas...

2010-12-08T21:43:00.003Z

...is some great nights out with the girls! On a FREEZING cold night, we warmed up nicely with lots of wine and dancing at the 'Studio 54' Party Night, held at Willows Farm. Along with about 500 other people, we had a fab time to kick off the party season. Here's some pics of us looking our usual fabulous selves. Thanks to Suzanne for organising (and to the group that didn't get the beer they ordered as we drank it instead).

Cakes & Cocktails Recipe Book Launch

2010-11-17T10:02:00.003Z

The book is finally at the publishers so we're throwing a party to celebrate! On Wed 24th November at Tzar Deli on the High Street in Radlett, we'll be holding our Cakes & Cocktails Book Launch. All women aged 18-45 are welcome to join us to try out a few of the recipes and meet the Circlers. A representative of the Leukaemia Society local branch in Radlett will also be saying a few words about their work - all proceeds from the launch and book sales will be donated to the charity. A reporter from the local paper will be taking some pictures and writing up the event.

Well done to Louise for getting enough advertising to cover all the production costs and many thanks to all the advertisers for supporting the book. Thanks also to Tzar Deli for hosting this event and to Steve at http://www.braden-threadgold.com/ for donating his time to produce the book.

Tickets are £3 in advance (contact us via our email link here to order or see your local Circler) or on the door - this includes entry into a prize draw on the night. The launch starts at 8pm and we're looking forward to welcoming you!

50 fabulous years!

2010-10-29T15:07:00.003+01:00

Radlett Circle reached its half-century in October and Circlers past and present got together for our Charter Night. It was great to see so many there and thanks to Eileen for a fab speech (off the cuff too). Here are a few pics...

Night Out in Open Air!

2010-08-31T13:01:00.002+01:00

Last month a group of Circlers, ex-Circlers and friends went to the Open Air Theatre at Regents Park to see some cultchah...Shakespeare to be precise. It was a lovely sunny evening (remember those?) and we had a picnic complete with cakes & cocktails in the park beforehand. Many thanks to Suzanne for organising.

Gambling on the gee gees

2010-08-06T16:20:00.003+01:00

Really great day yesterday with Circlers past & present (and Louise's mum) at Brighton Races Ladies Day. Started with champagne, gorgeous lunch and plenty of wine...combined with a few hats, fascinators (Kath & Kim), drag queens and horses. Biggest winner of the day was Julie at £20 up so nobody will be retiring just yet but we had loads of fun. When they finally kicked us out of the marquee it was dinner at the marina then train home. Thanks to Mich and Gill for organising: same time next year, everyone?

Cocktails and Cakes...

2010-05-11T17:39:00.003+01:00

Liz hosted a great night full of cakes and cocktails, made by Circlers to their own recipes (or maybe Nigella's?), last week. We welcomed Lisa and Mandy as special guests. Louise gets a special mention for her considerable pink bun (see below!) and Liz for the truly moreish Mojitos. We'll be putting some of these recipes into our upcoming 'Radlett Circle does Cocktails and Cakes book' which we plan to launch at the Radlett Festival next month and sell through various local outlets with proceeds to Leukemia Research.

Update on latest changes

2010-04-29T12:34:00.003+01:00

During an evening filled with cake and wine, we held our quickest AGM ever (5 minutes!) so we could focus on the really important stuff of eating and drinking! Suzanne was thanked for being such a great Chair this year and she handed the baton over to Nic G for 2010/2011. Nic B will be Vice, with Liz as Treasurer and Suzanne as Secretary. Other roles will be decided at next meeting, once rest of Circle has managed to return to the UK!

We also welcomed Mandy to her second meeting with us. Lots more dates were put in the diary - see below right for details and to update your own diaries. We've also had a request to offer B&B to Romanian choir members aged 17-18 over the Radlett Festival weekend and to sell programmes door-to-door so anyone who is able to help should email Nicola B.

A sophisticated night out

2010-03-01T15:24:00.004Z

Purely for research purposes, Radlett Circle went to the see the Chippendales last night at the St Albans Arena. Shirley and Nic G found the joys of sitting on the end of the row, only 4 rows back from the front! Luckily, these weren't the original Chips (who we suspect would need some help to get their kit off in a hurry these days) but the new and improved version. Fantastic night out and here is the photo to prove it!

So what have we been doing in 2010 so far?

2010-02-18T13:52:00.002Z

Long time, no post I'm afraid but thought we should do a quick update on the year so far. We've had a good meeting at Pizza Express and have been doing lots of planning around events for this year. We had a great time at our Christmas Party in Elstree and the Pre-Christmas cocktails organised and hosted by Suzanne so 2009 finished well and in usual style!

Everyone is looking forward to the Oscars Night at Elstree Film Studios next month, organised by Radlett Round Table. There will be lots of 'awards' for the 130+ 'nominees' attending and a great night with lots of eating, drinking, dancing and laughs is promised. We've also got a family Easter Egg Hunt planned and a trip to the Chippendales coming up.

Welcome to the Radlett club!

2009-10-14T09:50:00.005+01:00

At the Think Pink night last week, Suzanne welcomed Louise as our newest member. We're thrilled that Louise is joining us and are looking forward to all her new ideas! We didn't even put her through the promised initiation ceremony!

Alternative Quiz Night!

2009-10-14T09:44:00.002+01:00

Saturday's Alternative Quiz Night went down a storm again. Rather than boring questions about sport, history etc, we had to make egg holders from spaghetti and marshmallows, identify distorted celebrities and dress a real mummy. The food was great and we raised over £1,200 for our two charities: STEPS and BEAT. Well done to all who helped organised and thanks to everyone who attended.

Summer's Evening

2009-08-19T15:53:00.007+01:00

On a glorious summer's evening (remember those?) last month, Circlers from all over Area 21 came together for our annual dinner and to give our summer dresses an outing. After champagne cocktails in the last of the sun, we sat down to a gorgeous dinner along with mega chat-a-thon. Nicki Stocken, our National President, joined us and shared how much she's enjoying her role this year despite many early starts and late nights - she's off to International Conference in Bangalore later this month. Many thanks to Harpenden for organising such a great evening on behalf of Welwyn, Radlett, Harpenden and St Albans circlers.

There go the girls!

2009-07-08T10:17:00.002+01:00

Congratulations to Julie & Nicole for helping the Peace Hospice by throwing themselves off a tall building! Luckily, they were attached to an abseil as they descended 90ft down the side of the Harlequin Centre, Watford. Accompanied by Spiderman and Vicky Pollard among others (aka Steve & Ray from Radlett Round Table), they raised thousands for a good cause. Thanks to all who came along to cheer them on! Watch out in the Watford Observer for more coverage...

Welcome to our two newest members

2009-06-04T09:33:00.002+01:00

A big welcome to Liz and Helen, our two newest members during a lovely evening of wine, cake and strawberries at Shirley's earlier this week. We're all set for Radlett Festival on Sunday and are getting the publicity going for our Cheese, Wine & Chat in a couple of weeks. We're also hoping that the weather stays gorgeous for the Open Air Theatre trip as wellies is so not a good look!

Here come the girls...for a taste of Circle!

2009-05-27T19:39:00.002+01:00

Cheese, wine & chat evening open to any women living in Radlett & surrounding villages aged 18-45 who want to find out more about what we do and have a great night out. From 8pm at the Radlett Youth & Community Ctr (corner of Loom Lane & Watling St), come along and try out a few new wines and cheeses. Book your places through the email link on this site for just £5 per head. A warm welcome awaits!

Old Skool 80s Disco Night

2009-05-18T11:44:00.004+01:00

Having shaken up our wardrobes and raided the charity shops / kids' bedrooms, we donned our school uniforms or 80s gear last Saturday for the Round Table Old Skools 80s Disco. Re-living our teens, we danced the night away to Duran Duran, FGTH and Madness. Our 'skool dinners' of bangers & mash gave us the extra energy for some more dancing. Even 'Vicky Pollard' managed to have a laugh - joined here by Radlett Circle 'skool girls'. A great night was had by all and some money was raised to help Round Table in extra fundraising.

Card Shark Alert!

2009-05-18T11:29:00.005+01:00

Fellow poker players, from newbies to old hands, met last month for the Great Poker Showdown. Radlett circlers were joined by Area 21 chums from Harpenden, Letchworth and St Albans. Our patient croupiers managed the session fabulously yet our skill seemed to reduce as the night went on - could have been something to do with large scale wine and food consumption! There was a brilliant atmosphere, even in those tense moments, and Michelle from Radlett took the trophy. Many thanks to Julie for hosting and the boys for giving us that Casino Royale moment (not sure where Daniel Craig got to though). Same time next year?

National Council Meeting in Sunny Solihull

2009-03-02T11:24:00.003Z

Nicola, our Area Chair, headed up to Solihull last Friday for the February National Council meeting. There was a dinner with a buzzing beetle drive on the Friday night: she stumbled into bed just after midnight - her roomie made it through to 3.30am. Clearly, she needs to work on her stamina before National Conference in May!

The business kicked off about 9am, with loads of useful discussion and decisions made - minutes to follow shortly. There was great news about membership, with several new clubs opening and many increasing their numbers. Nominations were received for all Exec roles for next year, with the exception of Minutes secretary. A new role as Media/PR has been taken forward to the AGM to be voted in / out as an Exec role. Everyone is working really hard to manage costs, including pulling out of Marchesi House contract with RTBI so there is no increase to national capitation this year from the team, although a very slight increase is liable due to increased insurance costs and International caused by unfavourable exchange rates. Due to fabulous time management, business was wrapped up by 3pm and Nicola headed back south, having had a lovely 24 hours!

Picture attached of our gorgeous Exec, including our very own Chris from Welwyn, looking lovely in their buzzy bee outfits.

Swing Party Night Pictures

2009-02-10T10:33:00.004Z

Sorry these are a bit late in posting - fantastic fun and raised £1,500 for the Lymphoma Society

Eastern Regional Lunch 2009

2009-02-10T10:18:00.002Z

Six Radlett circlers set off through the snow for Thame to go to this year's Eastern Regional Lunch. Made it in plenty of time to get our slap on and get into the bar. After lunch and plenty of wine, we retired to the spa to chill out (except Julie who actually did some swimming). Back to get changed again and have some comedy moments with the TV maintenance man, then headed into Oxford for dinner then a club. Three of us pottered around Thame, managing to spend some money despite 90% of the shops being closed, whilst the rest tootled back home. All in all, a great weekend! More photos to follow - here is Nicola with Vicky Perry, National Membership Sec.

Mamma Mia - what a great night!

2009-02-03T10:55:00.001Z

Thanks to Shirley for hosting our Mama Mia night - we sangalonga Abba, dressed in our best 70s outfits and scoffed lots of retro food! Pictures to follow...

Frozen but not by fright!

2008-12-08T12:57:00.002Z

Last Wednesday 9 intrepid Circlers from Radlett went on a Ghost Walk around St Albans, joined by Vicky Perry (National Membership Sec) and Jo from Harpdenden. Despite freezing temperatures, we had a great time, learnt some new things we didn't know and soon warmed up in the pub afterwards with Irish Coffees all round! Many thanks to the Tourist Information Office for a good evening and some spooky stories.

A warm welcome to new St Albans Circlers

2008-10-10T16:51:00.002+01:00

On Wednesday night, Area 21 met at Lussmanns in St Albans for dinner and area meeting. It was great to induct two new members to the newly formed St Albans circle - both called Claire! We'd like to welcome them to Circling and look forward to seeing them soon at Area events. Minutes will be circulated shortly so do have a read through if you couldn't make it as there are plenty of events coming up and dates for diaries.

Know your Bordeaux from your Blue Nun?

2008-09-28T16:38:00.003+01:00

Thanks to Michelle for hosting our 'guess the country' wine tasting. I think it's safe to say that Jilly Goulden has nothing to worry about but we had a great evening and enjoyed the wine (even if most of us had no clue about its origin!).

Congratulations Chris!

2008-09-28T16:32:00.003+01:00

Friday night saw us arriving in Chorley from all over the UK to join the first National Councillors Meeting of the year. Friday night was a big party for Lynda's birthday (our National President), complete with balloons and party bags although wine, gin & beer replaced the ribena. For anyone thinking 'meeting' = 'boring'...think again! I can't think of many meetings where everyone wears fancy dress and plays 'pass the parcel' between agenda points. Congratulations to Chris Goodacre, past Area 21 Chair and member of Welwyn Circle, who has taken up the post as National Treasurer: we're really proud of you!

Here she is in her Exec 'Buzzy Bee' outfit...

Area 21 Circlers Past & Present

2008-07-11T15:33:00.002+01:00

Luckily the rain held off for a great evening at Hitchin Priory as Area 21 Circles came together for our Annual Area Dinner. Letchworth Circle had organised a fab dinner in a gorgeous venue kicked off by Pimms and finished by White Chocolate Pudding. Our National President, Lynda Wieland, joined us along with Circlers present and past including the founder of Letchworth Circle in 1952. Thank you to everyone involved in organising this and here are the various Circle Chairs, Vice Chairs, National Chairs and Founders.

Car Rally, BBQ and Festival

2008-06-09T10:31:00.005+01:00

Friends and family of Circle took part in our first photographic car treasure hunt on Saturday - here we are all raring to go. Great questions and route set by Julie and Michelle (thanks!) took us all on a tour of pubs we never knew existed. Whilst some of us didn't exactly shine in the results (last place!), it was a great afternoon and the kids loved it too.

In the traditions of the great British BBQ, we did get a few spots of rain later on that evening but it didn't stop us having a good time and even getting to the Radlett Festival the next morning. Well done to Shirley for organising the stall and thanks to all who supported on the day. Final calculations to be done but we believe we earned close to £100 for good causes. BTW, we have a russet coloured man's M&S sweatshirt and ladies Coast stone coloured cardigan left at the Bradens': please claim if they belong to you!

Next Meeting at Michelle's on Wednesday: Apprentice Final, Pizza (and very quick meeting!). More details to follow by email.

Gambling Girls!

2008-03-06T11:05:00.004Z

Some of us were virgins, others more experienced but we all met at Julie's house last night to play together...a few hands of Poker. With the help of our lovely croupiers, we managed to play properly despite the wine, canapes, cakes and Amanda losing her cards. It was fantastic that Hitchin and Harpenden circlers made it over to St Albans. Although we were all having far too much fun to keep poker faces at least nobody lost their life savings. We've already had suggestions that we should do this again as it worked really well. Thank you to Julie for hostessing and congratulations to Amanda for winning. Lots of pictures below...

Congratulations on raising so much money!

2008-02-07T14:41:00.000Z

Some brave and fearless Tablers walked across burning coals to raise money for the Watford Peace Hospice, cheered on by many Circlers (and joined by them in the bar afterwards for a few drinks to celebrate). The evening raised about £13,000 in total which is fantastic and will make a real difference to the hospice, a charity that Radlett Circle has supported over the last few years as well. Here they are after the event...and not a blister in sight!

In the pink...with 2 new members

2007-10-05T17:52:00.000+01:00

We had a lovely Think Pink evening last night to raise some money for Breast Cancer Awareness. We wore pink, ate pink food (smarties and taramasalata although not necessarily together) and drank pink champagne. Thanks to Nicola for hostessing, complete with pink table settings! This raised about £50 and Suzan won the prize for being the 'Pinkest Lady' by remembering to wear pink underwear too...winning is in the detail of course. It was also great to officially welcome two new members so 'welcome' to Irene and Louise.

Next get together is the 'Style Consultant evening' organised by Julie on Thursday 18th October (contact Julie direct if you want to come). Our next meeting will be 6th Nov, kindly hosted by the lovely Irene. In the meantime, get selling tickets for our Alternative Quiz at St Johns Church Hall on Saturday 17th November - Cath will be sending round flyers to us all. Julie will get full meeting minutes out shortly.

And another new member for 2007

2007-07-09T09:37:00.000+01:00

We are really pleased that Helen has joined us as our newest member - it must have been all those cakes at Amanda's house that clinched it! This is particularly great for Nicola who is looking forward to lots of lift sharing...here is Helen with our lovely Chair, Shirley.

More pics of us stuffing our faces...

2007-06-25T16:18:00.001+01:00

...and it looks like Nicola is just praying that these calories won't count!

Looks like we're 'doing the season' this year!

2007-06-25T16:13:00.000+01:00

Despite the rain, we were still smiling at Ladies Day with some lovely hats and friends from Tangent...and a good win for Eileen!

Ladies who lunch...or scoff cakes...or drink champers...

2007-06-25T12:23:00.000+01:00

As usual (!), Sunday lunchtime saw 10 of us having tea at The Ritz. Determined to get our money's worth, we all scoffed as many sandwiches, cakes and scones as possible in 2 hours, washed down with gallons of tea. To celebrate Helena's birthday, we even sang 'Happy Birthday' accompanied by the harpist. Rolling out of the Palm Court, wishing we had worn relaxey pants rather than posh frocks, we decided that it was far too early to go home so we headed over to Covent Garden and spent the rest of the afternoon in the pub. It was a fantastic way to spend a Sunday and worth every penny. Many happy returns to Helena!

Starry, starry night (well damp anyway!)

2007-06-18T16:56:00.000+01:00

On Saturday night quite a few of us walked the Starlight Walk in aid of the Watford Peace Hospice. It was a 13 mile route around Watford, starting at midnight. Despite the drizzle, it was a great night with lots of people coming out of restaurants, pubs and clubs (!) to cheer us on. We got back just before sunrise about 3.30am to a very welcome bacon buttie and cup of tea.

Here are some pics of us warming up beforehand and slobbing out afterwards! Well done to all who took part and thanks to all those who sponsored us: we'll count up how much we raised at the next meeting and compare blisters...

Fun and fundraising at the Radlett Festival

2007-06-11T13:37:00.000+01:00

Yesterday saw many of us down at the Radlett Festival running our Ladies Circle stall. We offered temporary tattoos, nail decorating for kids and hairstyling and it was a big success, both in terms of raising some money for the Peace Hospice in Watford as well as publicising our Circle (thanks Steve for the lovely new banner!). The weather was extremely hot and the festival was very busy. Well done to all who took part and we now have 2 potential new members!

Congratulations to our newest member

2007-05-14T14:35:00.000+01:00

We are really pleased to welcome our newest member, Mary, who joined us at our last meeting and was inducted (!) by our new Chair, Shirley - here's to lots of fun times together!

Girlie weekend away

2007-05-03T11:08:00.000+01:00

Nine of us spent last weekend drinking, eating and shopping at a wonderful Waterside Park in the Cotswolds. Four of us were even brave enough to climb up a 12.5m telegraph pole and jump off the top - not because of too much wine (although that might have helped) but attached to a brace that slowed our decent down enough to prevent major injury. There were some great meals, plenty of wine and chatting...

The park was beautiful and the house was really funky with loads of room - many thanks to Michelle for a fab job of organising this.

It was a fantastic weekend with lots of chance to really chat, as well as getting our nails done by our resident therapist, Julie. Here are just a few pics to whet your appetite...we would love to do this again next year!

Eastern Regional Lunch

2007-02-05T18:03:00.000Z

Last Saturday saw many of Radlett Circle along with 290 other women for the annual Eastern Regional Lunch at the glamorous Watford Hilton(!). It was a fantastic afternoon; we expected no less with the fabulous Area 21 organising it, including our very own Suzanne Hoenig.

The speaker was superb: Tricia Stewart, one of the original "Calendar Girls" and played by Helen Mirren in the film. She couldn't have picked a better audience with 300 women average age about 40 after several glasses of wine. The picture shows her having collected the first £1,000 for Leukemia Research from Area 21 Chair, Wendy Barber, and there is more to come. Two of their new calendars went for £200 each at the auction plus there are contributions from further raffle purchases and a percentage from the photographers. More photos to follow!

Next meeting Thu 8th Feb at Rushes Restaurant, Studio Way, Borehamwood - 7.45 for 8pm.

Think Pink - sneak preview

2006-10-26T16:28:00.000+01:00

As soon as they are finished, I'll post the full minutes of our meeting last week but thought I'd share the photo of Amanda really getting into the spirit of 'Think Pink'! I think it's safe to say that she was pinkest lady that night...or maybe even this year!

Didn't we have a lovely time in Leeds?

2006-09-19T16:31:00.000+01:00

Last Saturday, 11 Circlers past and present from Radlett (and Nicola's mum, Kate, from Cheshire) ventured north to Leeds to attend the UK & Ireland Ladies' Circle 70th Charter Lunch along with 700 other Circlers from around the UK. We arrived to find a rose plant each as a present - a lovely but not terribly practical gift, given the number of us wearing tights! We also got an engraved champagne flute, choccies, sweeties and a bracelet with a pretty handbag pendant on it.

The food was good, the wine was excellent and the fun was even better. The guest speaker was the father of the Walton sextuplets who entertained us with tales of living with 7 women; astonishingly, his wife and he are still married and have all 6 daughters (now aged 22) living at home with them.

It was a great day spent in great company - here's to the next 70 years!

Minutes from 7th Sept Meeting

2006-09-12T11:00:00.000+01:00

RADLETT & DISTRICT LADIES CIRCLE
MINUTES OF MEETING HELD AT SHENLEY TEA ROOMS
7 SEPTEMBER 2006

APOLOGIES: Catherine Baker, Pauline Walton, Shirley Taylor

ATTENDEES: Everyone else

GUESTS: Baby Rachel

Nicola Braden opened the meeting by presenting Helena with a bouquet of flowers and congratulating her on the birth of Rachel.

CHAIRMAN’S REPORT: Nothing to report.

VICE CHAIR’S REPORT: Absent due to nits! (Archie’s not Shirley’s)

TREASURER: There are two outstanding subs still to be paid – the people concerned know who they are – please pay.

The address and details on bank accounts are being changed as Karina is now Treasurer.

AREA: Nothing to report.

ENTERTAINMENT: Lots to report.
J.R. is moving sometime in October so asked if she could organise a theatre trip for November instead.
N.B. will try to organise a trip to Walthamstow Dogs for October,
probably for Tuesday 3rd or Thursday 5th.
N.B. is organising a trip on Sunday 10th September to see Germaine Greer.
A.H. is holding a Virgin V evening at her house at 8pm on Tuesday 19th September – she will provide drinks but not food. Please let her know if you will be attending.
CHRISTMAS PARTY – M.F. has looked in to organising a group booking for an ‘Echoes of the Orient Christmas Party’ at Aldenham Counrty Park . As the dodgems and camel rodeo sounded so much fun it was decided that Michelle will book a table for about 12 of us for Tuedsay 12th December. The price is £29.95 per person plus VAT.
J.R. asked if anyone would like to accompany her to afternoon tea at the Ritz – she will try to make a booking for a Saturday sometime in the New Year and will book for about 1.30pm as the price is £35 per person it was felt the booking should cover lunch as well as tea and to arrive hungry in order to get value for money.
It was decided that we would try to go and see Helen Mirren’s new film The Queen one Wednesday so we can use the Orange Wednesday tickets.
Michelle has been busy and apart from sorting out a Christmas extravaganza for us has found information on renting a house with a swimming pool for a w/e in April/May – the cost would be about £100 per person for the house rental. M.F. will look in to this further.

The Secretary was busy eating so it was decided to proceed to AOB while she finished.

A.O.B. Julie and Amanda will go shopping for raffle prizes that we have agreed to donate to the ERL at the Hilton on the A41 on Saturday 3rd February. Please make a note of this date in your 2007 diaries. The total amount to be spent on the raffle prizes is £50 so it was agreed that we would all donate £1 at each meeting until we have raised this sum.

Charter lunch in Leeds – 11 going – 10 staying at the Jury Inn – being organised by Julie and Gill. Catherine Baker will only stay one night. Need to sort out getting to the station.

It was agreed that Michelle would drive the old folks on Thursday 19th October and that Amanda would drive on Thursday 30th November. Caroline and Suzanne would be on stand by should they be needed.

Julie is sorting out a fund raising quiz sheet which she will email to everyone. It will cost £1 per go to enter and the prize will be a £20 gift voucher for the Vue cinema chain. The money raised will go to the Leonard Cheshire Homes.

Nicole is going to get some more information about raising funds/awareness of vascular disease.

At the next meeting we will discuss a charity fund raising event for the spring.

Secretary A.H. read out some extremely interesting and informative items for discussion from the National Executive council meeting.
We decided that:-

1. The way in which travel claims for delegates to National meetings are charged should remain unchanged.
2. We should be able to hold positions at local and national level.
3. National Council should ‘read the paperwork’ so they know about important Regional dates.
4. We are happy to take part in Relay 4 Life and agree that it could give Circle a better profile than Race 4 life does BUT we have no desire to organise a Relay 4 Life ourselves. At this point baby Rachel made her one and only contribution to the meeting and lots of cooing occurred providing a welcome respite from discussions.
5. We will consider raising funds to support the Freedom through Education Project in India and to try to raise funds of £250 to fund toilets to encourage girls to go to school in India. A good excuse for fund raising based on British lavatorial humour.
6. The Circler Magazine is not worth the paper that it is printed on. We suggest an emailed newsletter and a much improved website for Circle information.

Next meeting will be on Wednesday 18th October – venue to be confirmed. Julie will find out if Darcys in St Albans is suitable and Karina offered her house as a venue.

Nicola Braden inducted Helena Woolfson and welcomed her to Circle.

Meeting closed.

We know what you did last summer....

2006-09-08T10:51:00.000+01:00

...just a quick note to update on activities over the summer.

22nd June - Ladies' Day, Ascot. A fab day was had by all at Ladies' Day and we didn't lose too much money (but did drink too much Pimms!). Despite being personally sunburnt due to leaving suncream on the coach, it was a great day out and we hope to go again next year.

29th June - Area Rally, The Sun, Hitchin. This was an interesting evening with our new National President as speaker, talking about DEBRA (her chosen charity for the year). Good food and well organised by our hosts.

8-9th July - Camping, Hardwick Parks, Oxon. As usual, lots of outdoor fun for all the family. Despite the weather being a bit disappointing, we all had a great time with great food, great drink and great Ringos!

12th July - Circle Meeting, Pizza Express, Radlett - good venue, once we sorted music, air con etc! Minutes to follow shortly.

15th July - Safari Supper. Despite some last minute changes, this was a really successful evening. It was great to meet 41Club and Tangent members and thanks to Nic & Ray for hosting the end party. I'm glad to say that everyone got to the right venue for the right course and with the right host!

Minutes from 13th June Meeting

2006-06-15T14:44:00.000+01:00

MINUTES OF MEETING HELD
TUESDAY 13 MAY 2006
Nicole’s house, Radlett

APOLOGIES: Angela, Eileen, Catherine E & Catherine K

GUESTS: Helen & Helena Woolfson

CHAIRMAN’S REPORT:
Nicola B welcomed Helen & Helena to the meeting.

Minutes of last meeting, approved.

As mentioned at the last meeting Nicola suggested we support “Kids Company” which is a charity that was set up to support children who are on the wrong side of the track. It offers invaluable support to young people and helps them back on their feet.

The charity is currently running a scheme entitled ‘Colour a Child’s Life’ for those living in poor housing have a group of volunteers come and re-decorate, replace broken furniture, etc., for a day. Nicola asked if anyone would be interested in taking part. Members agreed this would be a worthwhile cause. Nicola is going to find out a little more and report back. Nicola B Action

Plans are continuing with the SAFARI SUPPER which is on Saturday 15th July and will cost £10 per head. Nicola B will continue to up-date us under separate cover.

RACE FOR LIFE
Amanda & Shirley attended the Welwyn & Hatfield Race for Life on Sunday 11 June at Stanborough Lakes in Welwyn Garden City. They said that it was an extremely hot morning, despite this there were well over 2,000 women taking part. With Chiltern Radio DJ’s supplying a party spirit it was an inspiring event.

The administration tent was able to supply entry numbers to those who had lost them (or in one instance someone’s dog had eaten it!) and answered general queries. We also acted as a security post for people who needed a safe place to leave keys, money, etc. – something that our Area recommended they address last year!

The only merchandise on sale was PINK SHOE LACES. They were very bright and colourful and only £1 donation. However, there were a lot of people who did not bring money because there was no where to leave it while they took part in the race. The other rather suprising thing was that there was NO WATER given out to race goers at the end of the race Apparently this happened last year too!

St Albans Race 4 Life is taking place on Sunday 23 July. A list of helpers has been sent to all volunteers. Quite a few Radlett members are running/walking in this race, so DON’T FORGET TO TAKE WATER, WEAR A BUM BAG for your £1, and don’t let the dog eat your number! GOOD LUCK TO ALL. Any queries contact Nicola B
NEW MEMBER
Nicola asked Helena Woolfson if she would like to join our Circle. She said ‘yes’ - WELCOME. A membership pack will be presented to Helena at the next meeting. Amanda is to update the membership address book and Karina to sort out subs! AH & KW action

VICE CHAIR: Shirley attended the recent Area Committee meeting with Amanda, in their joint role of Area 21 Membership Charities & Publicity officers. Shirley helped at the Welwyn & Hatfield Race for Life on Sunday, selling pink shoe laces and assisting in the admin tent.

WAYS & MEANS:
SPONSORED WALK summary – More than 40 walkers turned up for the event, the rain held off and despite the fact that the ground was quite soft and slippery no one reported injuring themselves. We may look to holding a similar event next year.

Monies were given to Karina to bank. A few last cheques are due before any totals are announced. The whole event was well supported and very much enjoyed.

RADLETT FESTIVAL WEEKEND 17 & 18 JUNE 12.00 – 4.30pm
It has been agreed that we will sell pre-decorated biscuits with a magical theme and or allow children to pay to decorate their own biscuit. Nicole has purchased a couple of packs of rich tea biscuits which the children can decorate easily.

TO DO LIST:-
The following people have agreed to bake double quantities of Nigella’s basic biscuit recipe – Catherine B, Karina, Julie, Nicola B, Nicola G & Amanda. Possible shapes (magical theme – moon, stars, cats, fairies, etc.)

Helen offered a gazebo for Sunday (hopefully complete!)
Catherine B is off shopping (AGAIN!) paper plates, small plastic sandwich bags, childrens wipes (for those sticky fingers).
Amanda to find banqueting roll.
Nicole will ask her lovely son, Ryan, to prepare a large sign to advertise our stall. Nicole will also prepare a price list, and a final rota for the stall will emailed to all members. Nicole Co-ordinate

Christine, ‘Keeper of the Boxes for 2003/2004, 2004/2005 AND 2005/2006 asked if the Ways & Means team could re-home said boxes. Catherine B agreed to look after them – thank you.

SECRETARY:
See AOB.

TREASURER:
Subscription time again! Members gave Karina cheques for subs to the sum of £43.50 each. Members not able to attend the meeting will be contacted so that all the cheques can be sent off before the end of the month. Karina
AREA:
The Area Council meeting is taking place (tonight) 13 June 2006. Because we had already planned to meet tonight Amanda has submitted a summary of what Radlett Circle has been up to. Minutes of the Area meeting will be forwarded in due course. Amanda

Area 21 Sports & Social took place on 18 May and was attended by Harpenden, Letchworth and Radlett members. Fortunately it did not rain, although a strong wind blew - we all played a couple of games of French Boules followed by a delicious meal at The Orchard Tea Rooms in Shenley Park – Very enjoyable. Thanks were received from all participating circles.

The WINNING CIRCLE is to be announced at the Area Rally on 29 June 2006.
“Our lips are sealed” – Shirley & Amanda.

COMMUNITY:
Carolyn has done a taxi service for elderly to the Radlett Luncheon Club.

ENTERTAINMENT:
Last week 10 members went to a Tom Jones ‘look-a-like’ evening. None of us felt obliged to throw our knickers in his direction and we all had a fantastic evening with lots of laughter, wine and plenty of dancing.

Michelle F mentioned that her friend, who joined us at very short notice, is ‘needy’. She has two children who she works extremely hard for but has no social life. She has had a very tough time (physically, emotionally & financially) and had really enjoyed herself - thanks. It was agreed that if we are going out and there is a last minute cancellation then she should be our No 1 guest (no charge if babysitter available).

Thank you very much Michelle for organising a lovely evening. We are all looking forward to the Robbie Williams eve. Watch this space…..

THURSDAY 23 JUNE - Ascot. Michelle informed those going to Ladies Day that she has booked a taxi to pick-up and drive to coach station in Hemel Hempstead. She has also booked one for the return journey. All race goers to liaise on picnics. Michelle

THURSDAY 23 JUNE – Pimms & Puds
Suzanne is taking part in a Race for Life run this Sunday with a friend. Rather than ask for sponsorship they have planned a ‘Pimms & Pud’ evening at Helen's house in Folly Close, Radlett. £10 per head. It will be a great opportunity to get away from the football and have a delicious glass of Pimms and sample a pud or two. For catering purposes Suzanne would appreciate it if you could confirm whether or not you can go. Suzanne
GOOD LUCK FOR SUNDAY!

AOB:
HARDWICK PARKS – WEEKEND Friday 7 – 9 JULY 2006
Families camping – Baker, Taylor, Fromant, Gordon, Harvell, Bigg, Wibrew, Swain and Goulding.

Michelle, Nicki B and Helena have booked stationary caravans on-site.
TENNIS RADLETT v HARPENDEN
Alison Springate would like to reinstate the summer tennis tournament as above. Harpenden said they would provide the strawberries and champagne. In previous years we have played at Phillimore Park Courts. However, Gill A et all advised us that the courts were no longer! Great timing don’t you think? Amanda H will contact Shenley Park where there are 3 courts and perhaps we can have some eats at The Orchard Tea Rooms.

Dates put forward were 19 or 25 July – TBC Amanda action

CHARITY
Nicole reminded the meeting that although she liked the fact we often raised money for children’s charities could we not consider raising money for the elderly too. All members agreed that this would be agreeable.

Nicole also wondered if we could raise awareness to the fact that vascular disease was a greater killer these days than cancer. Perhaps we could raise money for a relevant charity. Catherine B’s husband is a vascular surgeon, and would let us have some leaflets so we could discuss the possibilities at a future meeting. Nicole & Catherine B

SOLEFISH @ VERULAM SCHOOL
Pauline asked if anyone was interested in supporting the Duke of Edinburgh Awards scheme for children at Verulam School by attending a night out for £12 on 9 September. Very good value and should be an excellent evening. Pauline Co-ordinating

BLONDE OR NOT!?
Julie asked the floor if she should go blonde?
A resounding YES!! Julie action
Andy asked if this could be put forward at next Round Table meeting?

NEXT MEETING:
Next business meeting on 12th July 7.30pm at The Orchard Tea Rooms, Shenley Park Nicola B – tbc

Meeting closed.

THANKS TO NICOLE FOR HER WONDERFUL CURRY AND HOSPITALITY.
THANKS too, to Ryan for the WELCOME SIGN on the door and a very BIG THANK YOU to Louis for the wonderful candle arrangement XX

Successful Sponsored Walk!

2006-05-15T11:34:00.000+01:00

Our Family Sponsored Walk on Sunday was very successful. The rain stayed away and we raised over £650 for our children's charities.

Thanks to everyone who took part and/or supported the race, including our marshalls and goody bag packer. We are thinking about making this an annual event as there is only a reasonable amount of organisation required compared to the amount we can raise, plus it's actually healthy! Your thoughts please....

What's On - Updated May 4th

2006-05-04T14:36:00.000+01:00

Next Meeting: 17 Willow Way, Radlett - 7.30pm. Pizza to be delivered! Apologies to Amanda / Nicola B please.

Family Sponsored Walk: Starting at Shenley Tea Rooms, 10.30am, Sunday 14th May

Area Sports: Petanque / Boules - Shenley Park - 7.30pm - Thu 18th May

Ann Summers Party: venue tbc, proposed date Monday 22nd May

Who are we and what do we do?

2006-05-03T14:32:00.000+01:00

We are Radlett & District Ladies Circle: a social, charitable and community group for all women aged 18-45, part of the International Ladies Circle organisation and sister organisation to Round Table (for men aged 18-45).

We meet locally about twice a month for a wide variety of events, ranging from indoor climbing to wine tastings. It's a great opportunity to meet new friends, have some fun and do things that you might never get to try otherwise. We also raise money for various charities - recent fundraisers have included a Race Night and a Jewellery Evening, supporting charities including the Cystic Fibrosis Trust and Cancer Research UK. Sometimes we join forces with Round Table for some social and charitable events or with other Circles regionally and nationally.